Although they were together last summer with the USA Basketball Select Team, Connecticut guard Kemba Walker and Butler guard Shelvin Mack were asked about how often they faced one another during that period after their teams earned berths in the 2011 NCAA championship game.

The Select Team was a group of college stars granted the privilege of practicing against members and aspirants for the U.S. senior national team, which subsequently won the FIBA World Championships.

Walker could not recall a specific instance in which he and Mack were matched against each other.

“We were worried about guarding Rondo and D. Rose. You know, we had our hands full,” Mack said. “Sometimes you’re matching up with Kevin Durant and Rudy Gay.

“We had a lot of humbling experiences, losing every day.”

Mack said the two players got the chance to “hang out with each other off the court.” The two occasionally will exchange text messages, as Walker also does with Select Team member Nolan Smith of Duke.

In 2009, Mack made the USA Basketball U-19 national team that traveled to New Zealand and earned the world championship at that age group. The previous year, Walker had been the star of the team that qualified for that tournament, but he was unable to participate in the FIBA U-19 World Championships because of school commitments.